Aluminum appears on the period table of elements as part of the ordinary metals group. At one point, aluminum was considered a noble metal along with gold and silver: Napoleon III supposedly served his most prominent guests on aluminum plates. Today, aluminum is light and strong enough to be used in a variety of applications, yet inexpensive enough to be in every kitchen [for more aluminum news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Ever since markets crashed in 2008, investors have been slowly increasing their risk appetites, shifting towards more lucrative and risky asset classes such as commodities. Some investments in this category have flourished, while others haven’t fared so well. Natural gas is perhaps the first cringe-worthy commodity that comes to mind as investors witnessed its unprecedented free fall over the last few years. But with NG and some of the other big losers comes a potential buy in opportunity at rock bottom prices. Whether you’re looking for a bargain or simply want to avoid these bad-performing funds, we outline 3 of the worst performing commodity ETPs over the last three years. Note that this list is a bit modified in that we only chose one fund from each commodity type [see also 12 High-Yielding Commodities For 2012].

The six metals of the platinum group are some of the least abundant of Earth’s known elements, occurring in close association with one another, and where nickel and copper are found. Of the platinum group metals (known as “PGM”), platinum and palladium are found in the largest quantities and are the most economically significant. Less than ten significant PGM mining companies exist; South Africa is the largest producer, followed by Russia and North America.

The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is one of the most popular exchange traded products in the world, as it is home over $68 billion in assets and an average trading volume topping 16 million shares. This fund features a physically backed exposure to gold while charging fees of just 0.40%. The yellow commodity has been surging in popularity in recent years as the precious metal soared past $1,900/oz. while analysts and investors speculated about where the asset was headed. For many investors, GLD is their go-to investment vehicle for gold exposure and trading, as futures contracts can often be complex and dangerous [see also Why No Investor Should Own GLD].

CommodityHQ is excited to announce the introduction of our new heatmap tool. This new feature is 100% free and will allow investors to segment the commodity space to see which assets are underperforming as well as those that are ahead of the pack. Because the commodity world can be extremely volatile, it is often difficult to find an asset that has been consistently outperforming, or ones that are constant laggards. This new feature will erase that issue and is designed specifically with investors in mind.

The Federal Reserve’s stated mission is to provide “the nation with a safe, flexible, and stable monetary and financial system.” This has historically meant doing its best to keep inflation levels stable and low. It has achieved this goal for more than two decades now, but has decided to shift its focus a bit toward increasing the pace of economic growth. Other central banks across the globe have a similar stance, and this is worrying a number of market experts that it could eventually lead to high inflation. Gold is known as a solid inflation hedge, and could earn this reputation in 2013 if inflation picks up. Below are three well-known gold bugs and their bold predictions for investing in gold next year and beyond [for more gold news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Contango is simply an unavoidable phenomenon of the commodity market; at some point almost all commodities will fall into this pattern. For those unfamiliar with the term, contango simply refers to a scenario in which near month futures are cheaper than those expiring further into the future, creating an upward sloping curve for future prices over time. Traders and investors need to keep a close eye on futures curves, as they can have a drastic impact on positions while also presenting opportunities for lucrative trades. Now that the ETF industry has cracked commodity investing wide open, monitoring contango has become more important than ever [see also Understanding Contango Through Natural Gas Futures].

The past week has seen a continued run in the bull market that has defined 2012. With economic data coming in strong on the home front and euro fears subsiding for the time being, the majority of assets have enjoyed healthy gains on the year. Commodities, on the other hand, are a different story. Given their inherent volatility, the direction of equity markets is often irrelevant to how a particular commodity behaves; it often comes down to economic trends and trading habits. The trailing five day period has watched sugar futures soar by more than 7.6% while silver has sank by roughly 3.4% [see also 25 Ways To Invest In Silver].

Its been more than four years since financial markets took their unprecedented nose dive, and yet some investors still cringe at the mere mention of the year that most wish they could forget. The crash of 2008 shook markets around globe, hammering down prices in nearly every corner of the investable universe. On March 9th 2009, investors were finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel as rock-bottom markets prepared to make their turnaround. The pickup spurred investors’ appetites for riskier asset classes, luring many to the lucrative world of commodity investing. For the most part, commodities can find a place in almost everyone’s portfolio; the asset class can provide uncorrelated returns and diversification benefits, as well as serve as a potential hedge against inflationary pressures [see also 12 High-Yielding Commodities For 2012].

There are three primary determinants of commodity prices: supply, demand and sentiment. In the near term, if supply exceeds consumption, commodity prices tend to fall. Sentiment, or the opinion of traders that either look to hedge commodity prices to try and smooth out production costs or speculate for profit, is another important indicator that is much more difficult to gauge. For the most part, excess supply conditions are driving prices of the below commodities lower. They happen to be the worst performers so far this year, which could be due in good part to negative sentiment because in a number of cases the price is well below what the fundamentals appear to support [for more commodity news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].